Category Archives: QA

Some people describe addiction as a spiritual disease as much as it is a mental, emotional or physical one. Just like depression and other mental illnesses, addiction can be seen as being a deep disconnect within us that severs our connection with our higher power as well as the interconnectedness of our different parts. We…

For those living with addiction, many of us experience what we often refer to as hitting “rock bottom,” that time and place where we feel we’ve fallen as low as we possibly can. In this place, there are some common things many of us think, feel and experience that are memorable and that stay with…

Although depression is a debilitating and paralyzing mental illness, it often goes undiagnosed and therefore untreated. There are a number of reasons why we never reach out for help, many of them having to do with the stigma that still surrounds addiction in our society and in our communities. There is still a common misconception…

There are many factors that can contribute to our addictions – our family’s experience with substance abuse, our genetic makeup, our mental illnesses and our lack of healthy emotional coping skills. One factor we often ignore but that can be particularly problematic is boredom. When we think of boredom, we think of it as being…

A popular wellness trend is decluttering, clearing away the chaos and confusion in our physical spaces, in our lives, and in our minds. When we declutter, we take mindful steps to simplify both our surroundings and our internal environment. We look at what elements are holding us back, in our daily lives, in our homes,…

A huge contributor to our addictions and mental health issues is our lack of self-worth. We feel insecure about who we are, about our illnesses, about where we are in our lives. We feel ashamed of ourselves. Our shame and lack of self-worth make us think we don’t deserve to be happy or experience the…

When we’re struggling with addiction, the logical thing would be to want to get help for the illness that is destroying our lives. When we have a broken bone or any other medical issue, we get help. Why do we so often resist getting the help we need to kick our addictions? What is it…

As parents, our children’s well-being is of the utmost importance to us and is usually our highest priority. We are responsible for their upbringing and their health, and we take our responsibility very seriously. We feel honored to be their parents. When we’re struggling with addiction, our priorities can become totally skewed. The toxic substances…

Those of us living with addiction know just how painful and overpowering addiction can be. We get caught in cycles of using, desperately wanting to quit, feeling remorseful and depressed about our substance use and our inability to stop, quitting for awhile, and then falling right back into using again. This cycle can repeat itself…

If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide, PLEASE call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Self-medicating is the term used to describe our use of addictive substances and behaviors to relieve our mental and emotional pain. Rather than actual medication or natural remedies that would help us to heal, we’re relying on toxic…